What pistonhead doesn't like a V8 engine? This author has long argued that freedom of choice argues against outlawing gas-sucking automobiles. But I don't venerate the V8 engine as a sacred object, a talisman for those who feel that anyone outside of Motown is an eco-weenie Hell bent on ruining a way of life. But I know a man who does. "You see, the cars that lose money are the rage of the day for automakers — hybrids, electric cars and fuel cell vehicles — and would take even longer to develop if it weren't for the advanced technologies designed for powerhouses such as the Corvette ZR1, the Shelby GT500 or the Challenger SRT8, to name a few," Manny Lopez argues. "But perhaps most importantly, the green that these vehicles generate is of the cash kind, and for three automakers struggling to simply keep their North American operations afloat, that's not something to dispose of lightly." Yeah, and screw those tree-huggers! "Sure the trend is to downsize and the Big Three are developing smaller engines that are faster and more fuel efficient. They should continue that quest. Now isn't the time to create a new V-8, but it's also not the time to bow to public pressure from activists who want nothing more than for the V-8 to wither away." Boil that dust speck! Boil that dust speck!
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Advanced technology for the GT500? SRT8? When did putting a supercharger on an engine become advanced technology? When did more displacement and a bigger cam become advanced technology?
scrubnick: agreed.
While I’m still scratching my head as how how Corvette V8 (pushrods, for heaven’s sake!) manage such good fuel economy when driven conservatively, the SRT8 is nothing more than a large engine in a heavy coupe. How does that amount to “advanced technologies”?
I can just see it now, Mr. Manny Lopez pulling a Chris Crocker: Leave the V8s alone!
Let’s compare the technical aspects of a Honda I4 and a Chevy V8 and see how much they have in common… Hell, why bother, let’s just say straight up there’s not a lot in common. Just as their purpose is different, so is there design.
Also, if V8’s are the only things that make money, I guess Honda is going out of business and Toyota is in terrible pain while GM especially is just wallowing in cash… Oh, wait, no.
Fairly, though, the V8 in and of itself is not a problem, it’s efficiency. If they designed a V8 that got 35 mpg in mixed driving, I think it would be just fine. Perhaps that’s what they should do? Hey, they manage 30 mpg on the highway out of the monsters they make now, it can’t be impossible…
What he needs to say is that without V8 powered vehicles, Detroit would lose its soul, many of its strongest brands, and what little showroom traffic that isn’t generated by the Cobalt/Focus/Malibu/Fusion.
Sajeev Mehta, “What he needs to say is that without V8 powered vehicles, Detroit would lose its soul, many of its strongest brands, and what little showroom traffic that isn’t generated by the Cobalt/Focus/Malibu/Fusion.”
In other words, Detroit has not evolved beyond a reliance on the muscle car? Or can’t build a sporting car based on an I4 or lightweight 6 that people would like to drive?
It’s adapt or die. Manny can lament the V8 all he likes but it’s not the eco-weenies killing it, it’s the really good I4s in all those Hondas and Toyotas. And $3.50 gas.
Not just the muscle car, anything with a V8.
That said, the terms “V8” with “body-on-frame” could (probably) be interchanged in our discussion.
“When did putting a supercharger on an engine become advanced technology? When did more displacement and a bigger cam become advanced technology?”
That would have been about 1940. See Wright R-1820
i realize these are very painful days for detroit, but the truth is that its had more wake-up calls than all the attendees at last year’s narcolepsy convention.
its time to get real. its time to get with the program. its time to go green.
Last time I checked, the mustang still used a live rear axle. The corvette still used leaf springs. We’re talking about cars that are only affordable because they *aren’t* technologically advanced. I mean, if you want complicated V8s, what about M3s and RS4s?
phillipwitak, if getting real means ditching the V8, then no, just… no. A Corvette with a V6? If that ever happened, I’d jump on the “GM should go bankrupt” bandwagon…
Just wondering, how do Corvettes manage to win Le Mans with Push rod and Leaf spring technology? Looks like their V8 might still have some (non-grocery) shelf life.
You can have pooor milegae 4 cylinder machines too. Ever checked out the Hyper motorcycles ? Most of them get less mileage than a Econo car. Poor aerodynamics , hyper tight gearing and high friction due to rpm. Any car with 300Hp with 4 pot engine with turbo can also get stunningly bad mileage when caned.
Vehicle design for its intended purpose has more to play in mileage than number of cylinders. *Except V12s*
AKM- engine breathing and aerodynamics
Frankly, who cares about the muscle cars? They’ll probably sell less than 50K total this year. Its the people who suggest turbo 4s for the full size trucks and SUVs that need to be slapped about.
How about this comparison for fuel consumption.
A Formula 1 car gets about 3 MPG, a Nascar stock car gets about 5 MPG. Same Horsepower
Leave Our V8s Alone!
Unfortunately, this is what more and more Americans are doing.
5.7L Hemi Jeep Commander, anyone?
Sajeev is right, the V8 is part of an American brand’s soul.
Cars like the Cruze or standard CTS don’t get my blood pumping, but cars like the Camaro, Challenger, Charger, 300C, Mustang, Corvette, Ford GT, etc get my heart going and remind me what made American cars great in the first place.
Despite fuel prices and CAFE the V8 and these cars that define the brands should not go away. They should remain as there will always be people like me who will buy them.
Automakers can go green with new cars and new names, but they should never forget or forsake what made their brands worth loving in the first place.
Y’know, V8s were still kind of a novelty in the late forties and early fifties. Buick (founded before GM) didn’t have one until 1953, nor did Dodge (founded 1914). Plymouth (1928), Chevrolet (1911), and even Pontiac (1926) didn’t until 1955. I would hardly say that those brands were defined by the V8 engine.
The irony is that when Oldsmobile introduced its OHV V8 in 1949 (the first “modern” V8 — Ford and Cadillac’s V8s were flatheads), the original goal was fuel economy, not power. They wanted a short-stroke, overhead-valve engine that would have better specific output (through improved volumetric and thermal efficiency) so they could make it smaller for better gas mileage. They were pushing the oil industry to offer aviation-grade premium fuel so they could eventually up compression ratios to 12 or 13:1, also in the pursuit of better fuel economy.
The other irony is that the V8 was pronounced dead in the late seventies — the assumption was that it would be gone by 1984-85. Ironically, some of the car magazines (especially C/D) openly criticized Detroit for not getting on with it; at least until the early nineties, they were very harsh about American cars that continued the massive-bulk/big-V8 tradition.
Since a modern 3.0-4.0L V6 typically has better power AND better fuel economy than the average bread-and-butter V8 of the seventies or eighties, it’s not a big deal for most people, in any case. Will the V8 continue for higher-priced specialty and luxury cars? Sure, unless there’s some regulatory decision that requires every car to average 30 mpg (which is not how CAFE works). Does it need to? I dunno.
Sometimes you people scare me. Its not that greener engines shouldn’t be made.. we all are in favor of getting more for less, its the fact that often people want free market to go away just cause its not producing what they are in favor of. If v8s were around in 1776 im sure they’d be included in the second ammendment (=
There once was a time when I would not be caught dead behind the gas pedal of anything smaller than a V8. A Detroit V8. A General Motors V8.
Then I bought a Miata. There was a short, two year flirtation with a Corvette, but my experiences with 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder cars have overridden that. I’ve changed over the years.
I no longer “need” a V8 to be a happy driver. Instead, I’m happy with a car that has some minimal guts, but more so with a car that doesn’t catch cold every other week.
I don’t think I’m the only one who has changed over time. The world is changing, but Detroit has not changed or adapted to the world.
I’m sure this is the same argument used by poppy growers in Afghanistan.
“Screw the rest of the world, we need this industry to survive!”
V8’s are fine. Just not pushrod ones.